Egg products are an important part of the diet of the American people and of nations all over the world. Eggs are generally a very safe food source and are relied on by many as a good source of protein. Due to their nutrient-dense character, eggs are also a good growth medium for bacteria. The United States weekly chicken broiler production is more than 150 million per week and the consumption of chicken is rising. Eggs have been found which contain the bacterium Salmonella enteritidis in about one in every 20,000 eggs. Other bacteria of concern to the poultry industry in the processing and sanitizing of eggs are Staphylcoccus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli. 
A. Washing and Sanitizing Eggs Used for Human Consumption
In order to assure that eggs remain a safe and dependable food, governmental regulations have been adopted which require the washing and sanitizing of eggs used for human consumption. Eggs are generally washed as quickly as possible after laying in order to remove soil and bacteria from their surface and to help prevent bacterial penetration of the shell. Today most eggs are cleaned in mechanical egg washers that employ sprayers, brushes, detergents, rinses and dryers. Governmental regulations require that the eggs not be immersed at any time, although they may be sprayed with water at a temperature about the same as the temperature of the wash water. After eggs are washed they are sprayed with a sanitizing agent.
The present systems and methods of sanitizing eggs used for human consumption have many disadvantages:                (a). Presently used sanitizing agents are chemicals such as quaternary ammonium, phenolics and hydrogen peroxide. When these sanitizing agents are used workers are required to wear protective clothing.        (b). The disposal of presently used chemical sanitizing agents may require special and expensive disposal methods in order to comply with environmental regulations.        (c). Because governmental regulations prohibit eggs from being immersed in wash water or a sanitizing agent, these are applied by sprayers. Many current sprayer technologies are limited in their effectiveness because the sprayers only coat the surface of the egg which is directly in front of the sprayer. These methods attempt to obtain adequate coverage of the egg surface by rotation of the egg or by additional different directional sprayers.        (d). With the present spraying methods the contact time of the sanitizing agent and the egg is limited to the flow time of the spray off the surface of the egg. The length of contact time of the sanitizing agent on the surface of the egg is a critical factor in the effectiveness of the sanitizing agent.        